The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium hortorum which is a zonal geranium known by the varietal name Victoria (Oglevee No. 887 and Denholm No. 42097-1). The new variety was discovered in a selective breeding program by Mr. Blair L. Winner and is a selection from the crossing of a dwarf early flowering scarlet selection (Denholm No. 34235-9) by "Sunbelt Scarlet" (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,039, formerly "Pearlie Mae Red").
The new cultivar was discovered in August of 1982 at Denholm Seeds in Lompoc, Calif., was first asexually reproduced by cuttings by Denholm Seeds at Lompoc, Calif., and has been repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings at Oglevee Associates, Inc. in Connellsville, Pa. over a 36 month period. It has also been trial and field tested at Connellsville, Pa. during the summers of 1983, 1984 and 1985. It has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations.
The new cultivar is substantially more compact, a more free basal branching and a darker, more intense red coloring than "Sunbelt Scarlet".
The new cultivar, when grown in a glass greenhouse in Connellsville, Pa. using full light, 60.degree. F. night temperature, 68.degree. F. day temperature and a 71.degree. F. vent temperature and grown in a soilless media of constant fertilizer 275-300 parts per million nitrogen and potassium, has a response time from a rooted cutting to a flowering plant in a 10 cm pot of six weeks.